Two games into their Pac-12 season, the Utes are looking closer to their Johnny-come-lately 2011 selves than they had hoped.

SALT LAKE CITY – Oh, THAT Southern California.

The one from the history books. The one that showed up in the fourth quarter.

That Utah, too.

The one from 2011.

Two games into their Pac-12 season, the Utes are looking closer to their Johnny-come-lately 2011 selves than they had hoped. They had nice moments in their 38-28 loss to USC on Thursday, and they never called for mercy. But check out the numbers. Take away the 31-yard completion from Travis Wilson to Dres Anderson and it was a third sub-300-yard game.

The Utes still have little offense and a sometimes good defense.

Now comes the sinking realization they've been here before — a middling-or-below team in a fast league.

So plan on the usual talk about regrouping, focus and character. It might even work. Give the Utes some credit. It wasn't a blowout until then end, which is a lot like sticking to a diet … until shortly after lunch.

As expected, it was a full house at Rice-Eccles, the fourth-largest crowd in stadium history (46,037). It's not every day the USC Trojans pay a visit. Actually, it's not every century. Last time USC played at Utah was in 1917, shortly before the advent of the talking movie.

Who knew the next time they'd meet in Utah there would be talkies and even a Pac-12 Network?

In that game 95 years ago, the Trojans won 51-0. You might call it the game of the century because it was, in a sense. Since then, it has pretty much been all about the Trojans. They went on to win 11 national championships. Highest the Utes ever rose was a second-place finish in 2008.

Utah didn't fail to capitalize on such a high-profile event, this week. It ordered up a fly-over for the national anthem. The weather forecasters were under strict orders to deliver perfect football weather, which they did. During a break, the U. ski team was honored for finishing second nationally. (There's at least one area USC won't ever dominate the Utes.)

Utah's best hope was that somehow a loss to Stanford would have softened up the Trojans. And it did, for a while. USC fumbled on its first two possessions, leading to a14-0 Utah lead.

But one thing you know about the Trojans — they aren't just for show. No fewer than 14 players are on some publication's preseason watch list. On second thought, maybe they are for show. The marching band played in the streets of Park City on Wednesday. You might say the hills were alive.

USC, you have to love it. Its wide receivers coach is married to recording star Toya Martin and its defensive coordinator played a small part in the movie "The Blindside": himself.

Nothing like having your name up in lights.

Speaking of such, in 2009 USC was named "Program of the Decade" by Sports Illustrated. But are the Trojans all that and a bag of chips? Pretty much. This year the school's athletic department launched a program to reduce tailgate waste at football games. Makes sense. A lot of teams end up eating USC's exhaust.

What was, by most predictions, supposed to be a lopsided first half turned into a trip to Fantasyland for Utah. Its defense was immovable. Its offense was acceptable. The Utes were up 14-0 before the stoplights changed. The Utah team that got blown out early against Arizona State 12 days ago was nowhere to be seen.

Popular Comments

USC is an elite team all around. This game shows just how far Utah is in
playing the big boy of the conference. They gave TDs away and still got
annihilated at home. There are no UNLVs in the conference this year. Utah will
have to compete. With
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5:48 a.m. Oct. 5, 2012

Top comment

Swoop

Salt Lake City, UT

"During a break, the U. ski team was honored for finishing second
nationally."

LOL, typical of the Utes, celebrating finishing
2nd.

As expected, the Utes have dropped from division contender to
getting back slaps for
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8:43 a.m. Oct. 5, 2012

Top comment

view from afar

Ithaca, NY

Here is a bit of an odd observation from someone who grew up and went to school
in Utah, but hasn't lived there in many years. I think rivalry games are a
fantastic part of any sport and the emotion they generate is a great thing
especially in
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Brad Rock, a.k.a. "Rockmonster," has been a sports columnist at the Deseret News since 1994. Prior to that he worked as a beat writer, covering the Utah Jazz (1990-94). He has covered the Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, NBA more ..